Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 123579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Henri walks fully into the office, sitting beside Harold, her expression tight. She takes off her glasses and cleans them on her shirt. It’s her tell. She always does that before she apologizes. What does she have to be sorry for, and what does it have to do with Sofie?
“I’m waiting, Hen.” I keep my voice even, but it’s a struggle. “What do you know about it?”
“I, well, I…” She leaves it there for a few seconds, slipping her glasses back on and then peering back at me from behind the protection of the lenses. “She and I had a, um, conversation the other day.”
Harold closes his eyes and shakes his head from side to side.
“Hen,” he says. “We talked about this.”
“What kind of conversation?” My teeth clamp off all the other questions I want to hurl at her. “What did you say to her?”
“Well, I just… I mentioned some of the concerns we had about—”
“We?” I slice in. “Who’s we and what concerns?”
“I told her some members of the Collective expressed concerns about your relationship with her.” Her head drops forward and she bites her lip briefly before going on. “And I told her that being with her could jeopardize everything you’ve worked for. Everything you want.”
I shoot to my feet, leaning over the desk and jabbing my finger into the papers spread in front of me.
“How the hell do you presume to know what I want, Hen?”
“I d-don’t.” She stammers when people yell at her. “I…I j-just know how h-hard you’ve worked. She—”
“What else did you say?”
She presses her hand to her temple, like I’m giving her a headache.
“I, well, just that I…” She pulls a breath in from her chest and exhales slowly before looking back to me. “That if she cared about you she’d think about what will happen when she’s done with you. I think, since things went so badly the other day, that maybe she’s trying to protect you.”
“Henrietta,” Harold says sharply before I get the chance to respond. “Can’t you see he loves her?”
I glance at Harold, surprised by his astuteness. Attracted to? Really into? Lusting after? He could have said any of those things, and been correct, but he said love. And I do love Sofie. I’m just surprised he knew.
“I thought she was a phase he was going through,” Henrietta whispers, blinking back tears under Harold’s rebuke. “I’m sorry.”
I walk around the desk and perch on the edge.
“Hell, Hen.” I reach down to grab her hand just as a tear splashes on it. “We’ve been through a lot. You know I love you like a sister, but Harold’s right. I love Sofie. I know you don’t get it. I know you don’t approve—”
“No, now I get it.” She looks up, blinking owlishly behind her glasses. “I saw that press conference earlier today. I get what you see in her.”
The tight muscles across my shoulders relax just a little. A smile eases its way onto my face.
“Good, because you’re going to see a lot more of her.” I grimace. “If I can get her to see me at all.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and when I see Stil’s name flash across the screen, I take it as a sign that things might go my way.
“Stil, where is she?” I walk out of the office, already headed for the foyer and grabbing my coat from the hall closet.
“I…we’re at her apartment.” Her voice strains tears through the words. “I’m worried about her, Trevor. She’s locked in the bathroom and—”
“Locked in the bathroom?” I stop on the sidewalk, raising my hand to hail a cab. “For how long?”
“Like the last couple of hours.” Panic highlights her words. “Maybe I should have called maintenance or something to break the door down, or I could jimmy the lock. She…she just won’t open up.”
“I’m on my way.” I slide into the backseat of the cab. “Do me a favor. Call downstairs and get the key. They’ll do that for you. Make sure I can actually get in and up this time.”
I can’t free my voice from irritation that Sofie blocked me that way. At least now I think I understand why, but I won’t feel much better until I’m sure. Until I can hear it from her for myself.
Once I’m inside the apartment and in Sofie’s bedroom, right outside her bathroom door, I hesitate. What is on the other side? I know Sofie wouldn’t let this lead her to hurt herself. She’s too much of a fighter for that, but these last few days have cut deeply, have bruised and beaten her in ways she couldn’t have been prepared for.
Stil stands right at my back, so close I can practically feel her breath. I turn to face her, placing my hands on her shoulders and bending down until our eyes are level.